The Golden Grizzlies women’s basketball team pulled out a close victory against the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons on Senior Day, squeaking out a 58-54 win amidst a hard fought offensive battle. 

The game saw a slow start in the first quarter, but picked up in intensity near the middle of the quarter. The two teams traded buckets back and forth until the Mastodons grabbed the lead by the horns and refused to let go. The quarter ended with the Mastodons holding a six-point lead, as the scoreboard read 15-9. 

The second quarter shared much of the same scoring intensity for the Mastodons, but the Golden Grizzlies took a little more time to catch up to the on-fire Mastodons. Even as the Golden Grizzlies began to score more, the Mastodons continued to create a sizable lead over the Golden Grizzlies. The lead ballooned to 10 points before the Grizzlies could stop them and return the scoring. 

The Mastodons went into halftime leading by 4 — 29-25 — as the Golden Grizzlies shrank the 10-point gap down. The Grizzlies continued to shrink the lead, eventually taking the lead over in the final minutes of the third quarter. Even as they took the lead, the Golden Grizzlies never slowed down as the apparent trouble scoring was seemingly passed on to the Mastodons.

The Golden Grizzlies kept a stranglehold on the lead for the rest of the fourth quarter, denying the Mastodons a chance at coming back into this game. The final buzzer sounded with the Golden Grizzlies standing tall as the victor. 

The statistics actually show a different story than how the game really panned out, with the Golden Grizzlies shooting a worse percentage from everywhere on the floor except from the 3-point line when compared to the Mastodons. The Golden Grizzlies shot 22-62 from the field, 9-25 from the three point line and 5-9 from the free throw line [good enough for 35%, 36% and 55% shooting splits from each spot, respectively]. 

The Mastodons, for comparison sake, shot 20-47 from the field, 7-21 from the 3-point line and 7-8 from the free throw line [good enough for 42%, 33% and 87% shooting splits from each spot, respectively]. Despite the shooting performance, the Golden Grizzlies dominated the rebound battle to help secure the comeback win. 

The Mastodons recorded a modest 27 rebounds for the game, which would pale in comparison to the Golden Grizzlies’ totals. The Grizzlies grabbed an astonishing 42 rebounds during this game, with 19 of those rebounds coming on the offensive end. This, combined with the Mastodons’ inability to score effectively in the second half, pretty much sealed the deal for the Grizzlies’ win. 

This win will get the Golden Grizzlies’ winning percentage just under .500% for the season, with their record sitting at 12-13 [10-8 in conference play].

The Golden Grizzlies will return to the court on Thursday, Feb. 24 at 4 p.m. to do battle with the Northern Kentucky University Norse on the road in Highland Heights, Kentucky at the BB&T Arena.